FACULTY AND STAFF

CAROLINE JACKSON SMITH

Caroline Smith is currently the Acting Chair for the African American Studies Department at Oberlin College as well as an Associate Professor of Theater and African American Studies. A recipient of the prestigious 1993 fellowship for early career directors from the Theater Communications Group/National Endowment for the Arts, Ms. Jackson Smith made her New York debut at the New York Public Theater in 1995 when she directed Adrienne Kennedy's Funnyhouse of a Negro for the Signature Theater Company.

She has directed and/or worked as a dramaturg for the Cleveland Playhouse, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Karamu House, and the Cleveland Public Theater on such productions as The Women of Plums, The Talented Tenth, Ma Rainey's Black Bottomand Our Town, Your Town.

A graduate of Yale University, Ms. Jackson Smith served as the Executive Director of the Yale Afro-American Cultural Center for eight years. Since coming to Oberlin in 1989 she has directed The Gospel at Colonus, The Tapestry, The Resurrection of Lady Lester, Darker Face of the Earth, and The Colored Museum among other productions.

Caroline teaches African American Drama and Black Arts Workshop.